Rose Ottilie

Rose ‘Ottilie’ is a modern English florist’s rose with exceptionally full, softly ruffled flowers in clear cotton-candy to medium pink colour, opening from a soft cup into a luxuriant, many-layered rosette. The abundant, crepe-paper-like petals give the flower unusual volume without sacrificing the light, floating quality valued in contemporary floral design. A medium-strength myrrh fragrance enriched by ripe apricot and raspberry distinguishes it from many modern commercial cut roses, while a reported vase life of up to ten days gives the cultivar serious practical value. Although its flower resembles an old-fashioned English garden rose, ‘Ottilie’ was developed specifically as a professional cut-flower rose.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

‘Ottilie’ belongs to the modern generation of David Austin roses developed expressly for the international florist trade. It expresses the Old rose aesthetic associated with the Austin name, but its selection criteria are those of a high-grade cut flower. The flower is its defining feature. A relatively orderly, deep cup develops into a plush rosette composed of numerous gently folded and markedly frilled petals. The effect is considerably more textural: the surface of a mature bloom appears soft, rippling and almost fabric-like, as having a crepe-paper quality, the margins and folds introduce small irregularities of light and shadow throughout the bloom. Its petals look loose and spontaneous when the flower is mature, yet the bloom begins as a neat cup and develops into a neat full rosette. This contrast between naturalistic appearance and commercial reliability is central to its ornamental value. It is equally at home in romantic bouquets and more contemporary monochromatic compositions where a single stem must provide conspicuous volume and texture.

FLOWERING

This cultivar was selected and released for controlled cut-flower production, and when cultivated under greenhouse conditions by specialist growers, including production in equatorial conditions, it is able to flower continuously throughout the year. Commercial flowering therefore consists primarily of repeated production of harvestable stems rather than the seasonal mass flushes expected from an outdoor English shrub rose. ‘Ottilie’ nevertheless appears to be productive enough for commercial cut-rose culture, and its introduction followed more than a decade of breeding, observation and trialling in which reliability and post-harvest performance were explicit selection criteria. In a garden environment its flowering most likely will depend on the climate and length of the growing season.

Flower bud:

Detailed breeder measurements for the bud itself have not yet been published yet. Because ‘Ottilie’ is selected for professional cut-flower production, the flowering stem and peduncle must support a notably heavy, many-petalled head satisfactorily in commercial handling, but exact peduncle diameter, pigmentation and glandularity should not be inferred before breeder documentation becomes available.

The harvest-stage flower develops as a neat, compact cup which subsequently deepens and expands before the petals begin slightly recurve outwardly. The closed and semi-open flower therefore has considerably more structural restraint than the mature bloom, with the outer petals enclosing the dense petal mass before the centre progressively loosens.

Bloom:

The fully opening flower of rose variety ‘Ottilie’ is very full and large, cupped to rosette-shaped and strongly layered. The petal count is approximately 140, although a future official patent description may refine that figure according to growing conditions and stage of development. The petals, instead of forming a rigidly quartered or tightly imbricated rosette, develop numerous soft folds, waves and frills. The result is an expansive flower with an almost cloud-like on the edges and comparatively dense, substantial in the centre.

The colour of the flowers is a relatively clear and fresh pink, cotton-candy pink. The initial cupped shape retains a degree of depth as opening begins, but the flower progressively broadens into a full rosette. Its pink is warm enough to harmonize with ivory, cream and apricot but remains much more distinctly pink than salmon. In floristry it consequently bridges several palettes: classic blush and ivory weddings, tonal pink compositions and arrangements containing warmer peach or raspberry accents. The large number of petals means a single mature bloom contributes considerable visual mass, one reason the cultivar is being promoted as useful where designers want volume without excessive stem numbers.

An authoritative standardized mature diameter has not yet been published in the sources available for this new cultivar.

Petals:

Approximately 140 petals are reported in flowers of ‘Ottilie’. The petals are thin-looking but visually substantial in aggregate, with conspicuously frilled, softly waved margins and numerous small folds that evoke crêpe paper. This gives the flower a tactile appearance even from a distance and prevents the high petal count from producing a stiff, heavy-looking rosette.

The outer petals provide the containing cup during the early stages of opening. As the flower matures, inner and intermediate petals loosen and produce increasing depth and movement. The colouring remains within a relatively coherent pink range. Slight paling with age and changes in perceived intensity naturally occurs in petals of ‘Ottilie’.

Petal durability appears good in the context for which the rose was bred - up to ten days, and the petals retain acceptable ornamental quality through a substantial period of opening under suitable post-harvest conditions. This should not be confused with weather resistance outdoors, for which up to this date no information is available.

Fragrance:

The flowers of rose ‘Ottilie’ have a moderate fragrance of Myrrh character with a warm heart of ripe apricot and raspberry. The myrrh character places it firmly within a fragrance family long associated with certain English Roses, where the impression can suggest sweet anise, warm spice or aromatic herbs. As with all roses, perceived fragrance varies with flower maturity, temperature, humidity, storage, hydration and individual sensitivity.

Reproductive parts:

Detailed published descriptions of the stamens, anthers, filaments, pistils, styles, stigmas, receptacle and ovaries of ‘Ottilie’ are presently limited. The flower is so densely petalled that the reproductive centre is largely concealed at normal florist opening stages. Hip formation and seed fertility have likewise not been documented and are of little relevance to the intended cut-flower crop, in which stems are harvested well before fruit development.

PLANT

Rose variety ‘Ottilie’ is best classified horticulturally as a modern Shrub rose developed within the David Austin Wedding and Event Rose programme - an English florist's rose or cut-flower rose. At present there is no data on mature outdoor height and spread for ‘Ottilie’. Commercial stems of ‘Ottilie’ are already marketed in approximately 50 cm (19.7 in) in cut-flower grades, but that figure is a harvested stem length and must not be interpreted as the natural height of the plant.

Under professional culture the plant is expected to be managed for upright renewal shoots suitable for cutting. Until outdoor trials are available, it is more responsible to regard the rose as a specialty cut rose requiring fertile, well-drained soil, good light, regular irrigation and nutrition, adequate air movement and protection appropriate to the local climate. In cold temperate regions, greenhouse or protected cultivation would be the most defensible method of experimenting with the plant.

Foliage:

A detailed rose-specific foliage description has not yet been published. Available data suggests large, dark green foliage with a glossy and leathery surface texture. More exact characteristics should await a formal botanical description of the cultivar when it will become broadly available.

Wood:

Obviously the rose variety ‘Ottilie’ produces commercially important sufficiently strong, long, upright flowering stems to support large, densely petalled blooms. Exact cane thickness, internode length, juvenile stem colour, mature wood colour and branching density have not yet been formally published for this rose.

Prickles:

There is an ordinary quantity of the prickles on the canes of the rose variety ‘Ottilie’. The detailed data on the shape, length and colour of the prickles has not been collected up to this date.

Small prickles:

The smaller prickles are not typically observed on the main canes and on the laterals from the main canes of this rose under normal growing conditions.

Disease resistance and stress tolerance:

Commercial David Austin’s Wedding and Event Roses are bred and evaluated within protected production systems, often under substantially different moisture, temperature and disease-pressure regimes from outdoor gardens. Taking in account strict policies and procedures for the florists industry it is safe to assume that ‘Ottilie’ is disease resistant, particularly to mildew, blackspot and rust in greenhouse conditions, with an average day temperature maintained at 17.5 degrees C.

A rose that performs reliably as a greenhouse cut crop has therefore not automatically demonstrated resistance in an unsprayed border. Disease prevention should therefore rely on good rose hygiene rather than presumed genetic immunity: generous air movement, avoidance of prolonged leaf wetness, prompt removal of infected debris, balanced fertilization and regular crop inspection. In professional production, integrated pest and disease management should follow local regulations and resistance-management principles. ‘Ottilie’ should presently be regarded as a proven florist performer, not as a proven disease-resistant landscape rose.

No authoritative RHS hardiness rating or USDA hardiness-zone assignment for ‘Ottilie’ has been identified. Commercial cut-rose culture normally supplies regular moisture and nutrition and protects the crop from climatic extremes, but it is safe to state that the cold hardiness is rather weak, it is not well suited for cold winters, but potentially can withstand winter in the garden in climates similar to USDA zones 7 to 9 and grow reasonably well in such climates. Gardeners in climates with substantial winter frost should treat ‘Ottilie’ as an experimental protected-culture rose.

Name ‘Ottilie’ is a traditional feminine given name used particularly in German-speaking Europe and is related to the older forms Odilia and Ottilia. The name is ultimately associated with the Old High German name element ot or od, referring to possession, inheritance or wealth. The spelling has an elegant, slightly old-fashioned European quality that fits the naming tradition of David Austin Wedding Roses, many of which carry feminine personal names. Traditionally for the Wedding and Events Rose collection no info or statement from David Austin Roses has been released to explain the naming.

As of September 2026, ‘Ottilie’ had not received any confirmed awards, trial certificates or competition distinctions.

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

Rose variety ‘AUSCP20067’ / 'Ottilie' was bred within the David Austin Roses programme in England with Carl Bennett as a current chief breeder in the company, and released commercially as part of the David Austin Wedding and Event Rose collection in 2026. It was introduced alongside ‘Ariadne’ (AUSCP19310), the two cultivars being presented as the major new Wedding Roses of the season after more than a decade of breeding, evaluation and selection. The precise seed and pollen parentage for this rose has not yet been disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE VARIETY

‘AUSCP20067’ / ‘Ottilie’ represents a particularly clear expression of David Austin’s Wedding Rose breeding programme on transitioning the esthetics of English Shrub roses into plants that produce long and usable stems, reliable buds, predictable opening, resistance to the stresses of harvesting and transport, and sufficient vase longevity for professional events. Its very full rosette and myrrh fragrance invoke the traditional English Rose charm, yet its ten-day post-harvest potential and florist-oriented architecture belong unmistakably to modern commercial breeding. It also reflects a change in contemporary wedding floristry away from perfectly regular Hybrid Tea flowers toward blooms that resemble flowers gathered from a romantic garden while still possessing the durability and stem quality demanded by an international supply chain. Its introduction appears intended to broaden the warm and pink palette available to professional designers.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIETY

Rose ‘AUSCP20067’ / ‘Ottilie’ is a distinctive new English florist’s rose whose strongest merits are concentrated in the flower itself: a neat cup that develops into a voluminous rosette of soft candy-pink colouring, markedly frilled, crepe-like petals. Its mature bloom possesses the softness and apparent informality of an English garden rose while the cultivar has been bred for the structural and practical requirements of commercial floristry. This rose variety incorporated the following unique combination of characteristics:

  very full flowers opening from a neat cup into a richly layered rosette;

  soft cotton-candy to medium pink colouring combined with frilled, crepe-paper-like petals;

  a medium myrrh fragrance enriched by warm notes of ripe apricot and raspberry;

  strong visual volume and texture suitable for luxury wedding and event floristry.

The propagation methods suitable for the rose cultivar ‘Ottilie’include stem cuttings, budding or grafting are the biologically appropriate methods used for clonally maintaining modern roses (David Austin Roses’ cut-rose patents explicitly records stem-cutting propagation as suitable for cultivars). Because plant-variety and patent protection may apply in different jurisdictions, propagation for commercial sale should also be distinguished from purely horticultural feasibility and undertaken only in accordance with the applicable intellectual-property rights.

COMPARISON WITH PARENTS

Precise seed and pollen parent documentation for this rose was not published as of the date, therefore, a formal parent-by-parent comparison cannot be made reliably.

COMPARISON WITH THE CLOSEST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CULTIVAR

Among David Austin’s pink florist roses, ‘Carey’ (AUSweather) provides the most meaningful comparison with ‘Ottilie’. Both roses combine a clear pink colouring with the deeply cupped, many-petalled character associated with the traditional English Rose aesthetic, and both were bred specifically to produce substantial flowers on strong stems suitable for cutting. Despite ‘Carey’ being removed from the main collection years ago it still provides a meaningful comparison base.

The resemblance is especially evident during the transition from partially opened cup to mature flower. ‘Ottilie’ begins as a neat cup before expanding into a plush, layered rosette, its numerous petals becoming markedly frilled and crepe-paper-like as the bloom develops. ‘Carey’ likewise opens from a full cup into a classic English-style flower, but its mature structure is more distinctly quartered. The flowers of ‘Carey’ contain about 92 petals, with the petals arranged in quarters; individual petals are obovate, incurved and wavy-edged but display relatively little strong undulation or reflexing. ‘Ottilie’, by contrast, is noticeably more ruffled and textural, with a softer, cloud-like outline and a less obviously geometric division of the centre, and is much fuller having around 140 petals.

Colour brings the two roses still closer while also providing one of the easiest means of distinction. ‘Carey’ was specifically selected for relatively uniform pink flowers, and its patent records pink to red-purple petal tones without variegation. ‘Ottilie’ occupies a gentler tonal range, having soft cotton-candy pink. Its overall effect is therefore lighter, sweeter and more pastel, while ‘Carey’ generally appears stronger and more classically medium pink. Fragrance also separates them. ‘Carey’ possesses a moderate fresh rose fragrance, while ‘Ottilie’ has a more pronounced medium Myrrh fragrance, warmed by notes of ripe apricot and raspberry.

‘Phoebe’ (AUSCP17960) offers another useful secondary comparison because it is a recent cultivar from the same David Austin Wedding Rose programme and also produces a full pink rosette. It is nevertheless less similar to ‘Ottilie’ in colour and mature flower structure. ‘Phoebe’ has approximately 105 petals and develops a highly neat rosette with a small button-eye in the centre. Its colouring is significantly warmer and more complex, progressing from a coral-apricot centre to flamingo and natural pink, whereas ‘Ottilie’ remains much closer to a unified soft cotton-candy pink. ‘Phoebe’ therefore has a more structured, complex centre and a distinctly sunset-toned palette; ‘Ottilie’ is cooler, fluffier and more overtly ruffled.

USDA 7

USDA Zone 7 - hardiness guide